tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post7141998607482922857..comments2024-03-28T13:08:26.494-04:00Comments on Religion & American Law: Teacher suspended for denying Wiccan altarBrantley Gasawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894338478934982958noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-15414983981860911352010-03-15T23:41:03.823-04:002010-03-15T23:41:03.823-04:00Just because we have a concept of protecting relig...Just because we have a concept of protecting religious rights does not mean that anything goes. So if a student wanted to make a sculpture of Adam and Eve completely naked with detailed anatomy, should we allow that because it's religious expression? If a student painted a picture of a man flipping someone off with the middle finger and claimed it was a religious act, should that be allowed? I can imagine there are some things that should not be permitted in a public school because of its secular nature. However, it kind of goes along with the whole prayer in school thing. If you are not going to allow prayer in school, then how can you allow freedom of religious artistic expression? I'm not sure I agree with the actual prohibition of religious art just as much as I do not agree with the prohibition of prayer. I do think the teacher was completely wrong to bring up his own religious beliefs to prohibit the student from making the altar in the first place.jpetersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501513856081474609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-45727961081082314322010-03-10T21:28:43.209-05:002010-03-10T21:28:43.209-05:00I would have to say that I agree with David, Rob, ...I would have to say that I agree with David, Rob, and the similar posts that state Mr. Halferty was simply doing his job, as a teacher in a public secular school, of preventing religion from entering his classroom. While I do think that he was at fault for saying the Wiccan alter goes against his Christian beliefs, if Mr. Halferty also told another student that he could not build a cross, that strengthens the teacher's argument of his attempt to maintain the separation of church and state.LaurenJunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027419015184103681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-38211478700283709562010-03-10T20:53:25.582-05:002010-03-10T20:53:25.582-05:00As long as the students were given broad leeway in...As long as the students were given broad leeway in what they chose to build, I see no problem with one boy’s choice to build a Wiccan altar. I agree with Abby that the student was well within his rights and that Mr. Halferty was out of line. Students’ creative output will necessarily be influenced by their experiences and their beliefs, and I think that as long as it is within the parameters of the assignment, students in art classes should be able to paint religious imagery or symbols, and students in English class should be able to write short stories involving religious practices. The only problem comes in when these things are required by the school.Shannon H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08626019400571797708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-54021448507280034742010-03-10T19:09:13.954-05:002010-03-10T19:09:13.954-05:00I think I fall on the side of Eric and other later...I think I fall on the side of Eric and other later posts that there really is no place for religion in the classroom. If a teacher cannot display the ten Commandments in his classroom, why then should a student be able to put forth his religious views? If we want to take this a step further, isn't the use of public school property (the wood for this workshop class) for personal religious purposes a violation of many of the court rulings we have already discussed? I know this is a bit extreme, but it is just another element to add to the discussion...Rob Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09518459658642878711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-77980533595853669832010-03-10T17:10:44.935-05:002010-03-10T17:10:44.935-05:00I agree with Lauren and Eric's comments. What ...I agree with Lauren and Eric's comments. What concerns me is the fact that a student in a public school was attempting to build a religious altar in a public school. Public schools are a place for secular learning, not religious. While Mr. Halferty should not have brought his own religious convictions into the argument, I also do not think the student should have been allowed to build this memorial. It clearly has religious sentiment behind it, and is not appropriate in the classroom. In my own opinion, outside of the school, this student's ideas and religion would be fine, however within a public school, I do not believe this religious project should be allowed. It will be interesting, as we read further into court cases, to see how the court has handled the free exercise clause within schools.David Ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07948232761379728007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-72985003560456550502010-03-10T17:05:04.910-05:002010-03-10T17:05:04.910-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.David Ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07948232761379728007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-91953947612986403762010-03-10T14:17:07.445-05:002010-03-10T14:17:07.445-05:00I agree that Mr. Halferty’s actions are in direct ...I agree that Mr. Halferty’s actions are in direct opposition to the students’ First Amendment rights of freedom of religion. He not only used his own religion, Christianity, as a basis for his actions, but also prohibited students from expressing their religion. However, I do see where possible concern lies with a student making a religious item in woodshop. For example, it could lead to proselytizing of a particular religion within the public school by the student. Although the student as the freedom to express his or her religion, I do not think that he or she should be allowed to proselytize at the public school to other students who are at a very impressionable age. Even though I understand this concern, I still stand behind the school board’s action of suspending Mr. Halferty.Lauren Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17366570487073979473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-37559534036641125562010-03-09T14:10:02.746-05:002010-03-09T14:10:02.746-05:00This was an interesting article because of how it ...This was an interesting article because of how it was approached. Like Jessica and Abby point out, Mr. Halferty does contradict himself in his defense. I feel that he was justified in not allowing the student to make a cross or the other student to make an alter in order to keep religion separate from his classroom. However, once he imposed his own "Christian values" into his reasoning for not allowing the students to make the religious objects was when he crossed the line. I agree that he should be reprimanded for his actions but I also feel like he might have been simply ignorant in how to handle the general situation because of his wavering arguments.Alicia_Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17794592533231186094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-56905916191119068982010-03-09T14:05:29.340-05:002010-03-09T14:05:29.340-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alicia_Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17794592533231186094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-28357148366399175072010-03-09T14:02:28.540-05:002010-03-09T14:02:28.540-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alicia_Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17794592533231186094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-52816712625672179252010-03-09T13:40:16.759-05:002010-03-09T13:40:16.759-05:00I agree with Jess in that I think that the contrad...I agree with Jess in that I think that the contradictory statments made by Mr. Halferty are an incredibly interesting aspect of this case. First, Mr. Halferty claimed that he did not believe in the Wiccan religion and therefore did not want a child building something contrary to his beliefs. Then he made the statement that he was a staunch supporter of separation of church and state and that is why he banned a child from building a cross in his class. In this particular case I believe that the school was correct in suspending Mr. Halferty. Not only was he promoting his own religion; he was also inhibiting the student's religion by preventing the student from buiding the altar and by debasing the student's relgion in the process. If the assignment was that students could build whatever they liked, then I believe that the student should not have been penalized for building something religious. Mr. Halferty violated both the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses through his actions and I believe he was rightly punished.Abby Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06162338278428970964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-55362584327759168392010-03-08T18:35:55.893-05:002010-03-08T18:35:55.893-05:00I think this issue is an interesting one in that w...I think this issue is an interesting one in that we have yet to deal with a case where religious expression in school, by a student is under fire. Clearly there are large issues at stake, for both the school and the state. My question is why the teacher is under fire? He simply is trying to prohibit religion from entering his classroom. Lets say other kids are curious about this witchcraft alter, and a discussion is sparked where religious content is though to the students, then what? By prohibiting all expressions of religion in woodshop, I believe this teacher is doing a great job separating church and state.E.Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11827404225376889033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-48709154600199220202010-03-08T17:17:45.731-05:002010-03-08T17:17:45.731-05:00I think a main issue here is the fact that Mr. Hal...I think a main issue here is the fact that Mr. Halferty contradicts himself. At first he claims “he still doesn't understand why school officials are forcing him to act against his own beliefs as a Christian and allow the student to disrupt his class with a project based on a religion he believes is wrong and bad for youth.” According to this statement I definitely agree that the students constitutional rights were violated. Mr. Halferty goes on to argue that he had previously told another student he could not build across because he believes in the separation of church and state. Although I think it would be a legitimate ruling for the school to declare that religious pieces could not be made in school, I don’t buy Halferty’s defense. If this were the case he would have had no need to bring his own, irrelevant religious views to the table. I think the school is doing the right thing in suspending this teacher and supporting the student’s right to observe any unconventional religion he so chooses.Jessica Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08720694447229961254noreply@blogger.com